Detectives were yesterday (Thursday) attempting to piece together the final movements of a young lottery winner murdered in Stirling.

Ryan McKechnie was found dead at his home in James Street, Whins Of Milton

Angus McKechnie, who was known as Ryan, was found dead at his home in James Street, Whins of Milton, after
friends contacted police to say that he hadn’t been seen in three days.

After forcing entry into his home on Tuesday morning, officers found the 31-year-old’s body and deemed his death as suspicious.

On
Wednesday, following a post mortem examination, police confirmed that they had launched a murder investigation. Dad of three Ryan, who attended Stirling High, is said to have battled chronic drug addiction,
but had hoped to turn his life around after winning £40,000 on the Irish Lottery late last year.

Detectives
are now trying to draw together a timeline of Ryan’s final days. After what they say has been a positive response to their appeal for information, they are now following several lines of inquiry.

Detective
Chief Inspector Gary Cunningham said the investigation is focusing on Ryan’s movements in the area in the four days before his body was found.

He
said: “Our investigation began at 11am on Tuesday when a member of the public phoned us to say that they hadn’t seen Angus McKechnie, who is known locally as Ryan, for a few days.

On gaining entry to his
home, he was found dead within. Initial investigations were carried out and it was decided to treat his death as suspicious.”

Through speaking to people in the area, police received separate reports of Ryan being seen in his garden on Friday afternoon and at the house on Saturday evening.

It
is understood that the incident may have happened at the weekend, and reports have claimed that the victim suffered stab wounds.

The
incident is the latest tragedy to have struck the McKechnie family. Ryan’s former partner Anne Marie Rooney, 29, died four years ago. The cause of death was “presumed drug related”. And in August of last year, his mother Linda Rose Anderson, a teacher in Clackmannanshire, died age
52. Neighbour Kevin McKenna, 44, said Ryan – who was dad to Shannon (11), Ryan (8) and Michael – had been free of drugs for years but relapsed after his mother’s death. Of the lottery win, he said: “All his
supposed mates started hanging around, so he didn’t have the money for long.”

He added: “Ryan was a
great guy, a brand new guy, who always spoke to you if you were passing
in the street. He doted on his boy Michael.”

Police
have said the victim was well known in Whins of Milton, and that for now their investigations were focused on establishing Ryan’s movements around the James Street area.

DCI
Cunningham said: “We are looking at the period from Friday through to Tuesday, and want to establish what his movements were, where he was and
whether his friends know where he has been.”